August 2002 Bulletin - Early Web Edition

MC3 = Numismatics!

Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 13, 2002

The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet on the second
Tuesday of the month, 13 August 2002, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA).
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance
(in whatever form is deemed most appropriate by those present)
at approximately 7:20pm. The featured event this month had not been
announced as of the posting of this Bulletin.

On 9 July 2002 the MCCC was called to order at 7:20pm on a hot (98 degrees
Fahrenheit) and sultry evening, with thunderstorms looming over the area.
This month about 40 people were present, including 4 Young Numismatists (YNs).
John Schadegg, 5 months old, attended his second meeting. One visitor was
welcomed: YN Alex Dearth, who collects Washington quarters.

Announcements

Past President Willy Massey was in Colorado this month, attending
an American Numismatic Association seminar for which he was awarded a scholarship. Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky was also away this month at a numismatic
event.

Lame-duck Librarian Kermit Smyth announced that the club library was
in transition to Incoming Librarian Wayne Mitchell.

Vice President Ed Russell anticipates the arrival of 2002
Red Books, both hardbacks and paperbacks, by the time of the
August MCCC meeting. They will be for sale at great discounts for Club
members.

Exhibits

The July MCCC meeting included several short presentations and displays:

Wayne Mitchell described his experience with half dollars at a
local bank. In his first purchase of 80 halves he found two 2001-S proof
clad Kennedy fifty cent pieces. This whetted his appetite; his second experiment
involved 176 half dollars, among which he found 5 Franklins and 2 Walking
Liberties --- an amazing discovery. Wayne reported that a bank teller told him
that someone emptying a safe deposit box for an estate had insisted on turning
in a large volume of silver coinage at face value. The bank employees got most
of the coins, but apparently a few halves remained. His most recent analysis
was of a $939 purchase from the half dollar bin of the bank's change-counting
machine. In that hoard Wayne found 11 silver-clads, 1 Franklin, and a 1980-S
proof, plus several slugs, tokens, and/or foreign coins.

Jerry Grzenda displayed a large printed cloth banner or scarf from
an 1876 Hundredth Anniversary fair honoring American independence. Jerry also
showed two medals, obverse and reverse, associated with that event, and a set
of large galvanos used to produce dies for the quarter Balboa Panamanian coin
of 1930, struck at the US mint. Finally, Jerry exhibited a variety of Italian coins
minted before 1861, from Tuscany, Florence, Lombardy, Sicily, and other states
which later were united to make the country of Italy.

Herb Hall showed $5 and $10 golden Canadian 90th Anniversary coins
dated 1912-2002. Herb explained that these were quite scarce; only 2002 of them
were issued.

Door Prizes & Gold Raffle

The managers of the door prizes this month were Herb Hall and
Ken Huff. The Door Prizes this month were:

an Austrian proof set of 1964, including 2, 5, 10, and 50 Groschen
coins plus a 1 Schilling piece

an MCCC elongated set struck upon 1, 5, 10, and 25 cent US coins

a British Royal Mint and ANA 89th Anniversary Souvenir token honoring
the 80th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who
celebrated that birthday on 4 August 1980. (The Queen Mother died on 30
March 2002 at the age of 101.)

The gold raffle prize this month was a one-tenth ounce ($5 denomination)
US gold Eagle dated 1998. Special prizes for Young Numismatists included
1996 Atlanta Olympic diving tokens.

Door prize winners for July were Sandy Swab,
Jeff Crockett, and Mark Zimmermann.
The Gold Raffle was won by Henry Adler.
There was no Bison Chip drawing this month.

Miley Busiek Frost on "The US Golden Eagle Design"

"It was an exciting opportunity as an American. The whole experience was unreal,
from start to finish," Miley Frost said with a smile. Ms. Frost told the MCCC
about her adventures in creating the reverse side of the US golden Eagle
bullion coin.

Ken Swab introduced Miley to the Club. He first met her in the early 1980s
when he worked for the House Subcommittee associated with coinage. She brought
a great design to the Congress, along with many endorsements and a high level
of energy and enthusiasm --- which eventually let to Congress mandating her
design for the coin.

Miley Frost in turn thanked Ken, and noted that for her, "The highlight of
this evening is to get to see Ken." She began her talk by noting that,
post-September 11, gold prices have risen significantly. Ms. Frost then
sketched out her background. She described herself as a sculptor, not a
medallic artist. About one year before the idea of a gold coin design
had occurred to her she was with her family in Wyoming, doing research
on the American bald eagle. She observed a nest of eagles on a rocky
cliff above the Platt River --- babies who were brought fish and other food
by their parents. Miley went back home to Dallas Texas and crafted a
sculpture based on this theme.

Then, she reported, upon watching Ronald Reagan's acceptance speech to the
1980 Republican Convention his phrase "Together, a new beginning," caught
her attention. She gave her sculpture that name. Then a friend, active in
the Texas Republican Party, saw the sculpture and began to make telephone
calls, which led to its being accepted as the official commemorative
piece for President Reagan's first inauguration. A bronze casting of it,
base signed by Ronald Reagan, sat in the Oval Office for the eight years
of his Presidency. Miniature versions were given as gifts to those who
attended the inauguration, and to the American hostages returning from
Iran to meet with President Reagan.

At an inaugural ball, Miley said, while dancing with an ambassador she
was told that her design should be used on a coin. Some time thereafter,
during an airline flight, she read in the Wall St. Journal about
the establishment of the Gold Commission to explore the possibility of
US gold bullion coin issues. Ms. Frost seized the opportunity.

"I believe that families are the greatest asset and the most valued
possessions in this country," Miley said. So she did a line drawing of
a family of eagles, based on her sculpture, and added the caption
"A symbolic tribute to the American family, senior citizens and
young people".

Miley called the US Mint, and they invited her to visit. They liked her
design, but told her that the Congress needed to approve it. So, she
met with Congressmen and Senators, who accepted her proposal. "They
didn't even hesitate --- it was most amazing!" she said.

Ms. Frost's goals for this process were:

To be totally bipartisan;

To represent what Americans are really like; and

To do it for no payment whatsoever --- as a gift to the Public.

It took five years, Miley reported. The South
African Kruggerand had been banned, and Canadian Maple Leaf bullion gold
coinage was to some degree taking its place. But many Congressmen and
Senators were interested in seeing a US alternative. She met with staffers
(including Ken Swab) of the House Subcommittee for Consumer Affairs and
Coinage, and of the Senate Committee on Banking. She got letters from
a family friend, Tom Landry (then coach of the Dallas Cowboys football
team) and he in turn persuaded Joe Gibbs (then coach of the rival Washington
Redskins) to write to Congress on behalf of Miley's design. She also got
endorsements from the AFL&CIO union leadership, various religious groups,
and both the Democratic and Republican Parties of Texas.

Miley described how she went to countless meetings with Congressmen
and Senators, and thereby gathered a long list of co-sponsors for the
legislation. She testified at hearings about the symbolism of the design.
And she overcame several last-minute roadblocks, including an objection
by Canada based on fears that a US gold bullion coin would cut into
Canadian gold sales. Miley explained that she called a friend, the US Ambassador
to France (Joe Rogers) who contacted the French Embassy and got them to
talk with the Canadian Prime Minister over the phone, which helped defuse
this problem.

Miley also met with Congressman Annunzio who to some degree
seemed to oppose her design --- but she realized that he was actually
being a devil's advocate when she saw a copy of her family of eagles
sketch framed above his office doorway. She told of a meeting with
then Secretary of the Treasury James Baker, who told her, "Miley,
do not be deterred --- march forward with this."

Ms. Frost described how, somewhat like the current ruckus over the
words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, there was a flap over
the "In God We Trust" motto on the US gold bullion coins. Some people
proposed to leave it off. But a quick response by Congress mandated that
it stay.

The bill endorsing her design passed unanimously, Ms. Frost reported.
The coins were struck at West Point, and at the initial ceremony Miley
and her two sons each had an opportunity to strike one, which they
received as mementos of the occasion; so did the Treasurer of the US
and Congressmen and Senators who were present. Miley displayed one
of these coins to the MCCC.

Ms. Frost concluded her talk with a quote from Senator Exon, who
gave generous credit to coin collectors for their helpful advice in the
process. "They are truly the keepers of the Nation's history --- and in this
case, they are truly creators of the Nation's history."

In response to questions from her audience, Ms. Frost explained that
although she has remarried and moved to the DC area,
she is not a Washington Redskins fan. "When Tom Landry was fired,
I gave up football!" she said. Miley recounted that, concerning
the obverse of the US gold eagle coins, the Treasury called
her and she recommended the Augustus St. Gaudens $20 gold piece
design. Her reverse face sketch was modified slightly: a sun and the rays
eminating from it were removed to help with the striking process.
Miley told of a tour she got of the US Mint with Elizabeth Jones,
then director of the facility.

The US bullion gold coinage was first issued
in 1987; the first striking ceremony took place on 20 October 1986.

Further Notes

The July 2002 MCCC meeting adjourned at approximately 9:15pm.
Auctioneers this month were Don McKee and Ken Swab.